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Ross Ramsey co-founded The Texas Tribune in 2009 and served as its executive editor until his retirement in 2022. He wrote regular columns on politics, government and public policy. Before joining the Tribune, he was editor and co-owner of Texas Weekly. He did a 28-month stint in government with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Before that, he reported for the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Times Herald, as a Dallas-based freelancer for regional and national magazines and newspapers, and for radio stations in Denton and Dallas.
The deadline for approving bills in the House came and went this week without a vote on Rep. Scott Hochberg's school finance legislation. Meanwhile, in the upper chamber, Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, is struggling to find one more Democrat to get her proposal heard. Full Story
In what may be the Democrats' first concrete victory of the session, the House at last sent HB 400 to its grave when it failed to take up the controversial legislation before its midnight deadline. Full Story
Aaronson on pork choppers, Aguilar on sanctuary cities legislation, Galbraith on Brownsville's ban on plastic bags, Grissom on Delma Banks and prosecutorial misconduct, Hamilton on a tough week for higher education in Texas, Philpott on wildfires and politics, Ramshaw on the state's pursuit of a federal Medicaid overhaul, M. Smith on what would happen if lawmakers don't rewrite school finance formulas, yours truly on the Lege as schoolyard and Stiles with interactive graphics on how the proposed Senate redistricting maps compare with current ones: The best of our best content from May 9 to 13, 2011. Full Story
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It turns out you can do a lot of damage with nothing more than a rule book, which is hazardous in a place that often runs like a schoolyard: Conduct trumps content. Full Story
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State Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, unveiled his proposed Senate redistricting maps this week and opened hearings on them on Thursday with a vote possible Friday. Use our interactive maps to see the proposed changes and who would be affected. Full Story
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Texas lawmakers voted against parental approval for corporal punishment Wednesday, allowing schools to spank students with or without parents' say. Full Story
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The Texas House took a step toward tougher regulation of payday lenders Wednesday, tentatively approving a bill that would require lenders to make more detailed disclosures to their borrowers. Full Story
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Travis County would get two new out-of-town senators, and Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, would be squeezed into a district designed for a Republican, in political maps proposed by Senate Redistricting Chairman Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo. Full Story
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Hey, Texplainer: What's all the talk about deadlines at the Legislature this week? Aren't there three weeks left in the session? Full Story
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For the latest installment of our unscientific survey of political and policy insiders, we asked whether lawmakers will agree on a budget and redistricting during the regular session and about what might be left undone. Full Story
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